Sunday, May 31, 2015

AfricaRice recognized as an important partner of Madagascar

“We are immensely gratified that AfricaRice
has been recognized as an important partner of the government of Madagascar to help
realize its vision of becoming the rice granary of the Indian Ocean,” said
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Director General Dr Harold Roy-Macauley during
his recent visit to the country. “AfricaRice is best placed to contribute to
this goal.”

Madagascar and AfricaRice have forged close
ties since 2010, when the country joined AfricaRice. Dr Lala Razafinjara,
Director General of FOFIFA – the main component of the national agricultural
research system in Madagascar – is heading the Program Committee of the
AfricaRice Board of Trustees.

The
AfricaRice delegation led by Dr Roy-Macauley was received
in audience by the President of Madagascar and had discussions with the
Honorable Minister of Agriculture of Madagascar Mr Roland Ravatomanga and the FOFIFA
rice team.

Dr
Roy-Macauley participated in an official ceremony
chaired by the Honorable Minister of Agriculture in Antsirabe on 22 May 2015, where two new cold-tolerant rice varieties – named FOFIFA 183 and FOFIFA 184
– were released. These varieties were developed in collaboration with FOFIFA,
as part of the ‘Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia’ (STRASA)
project, supported by the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation.

The ceremony also provided an opportunity to
AfricaRice to present a range of agricultural equipment for the Rice Hubs of
Ambohibary and Ankazomiriotra in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagascar as
part of the collaborative project on the Support to Agricultural Research for
Development of Strategic Crops in Africa (SARD-SC), funded by the African
Development Bank (AfDB).

Rice is both the main crop and the staple food
of the majority of the population of Madagascar. Per capita rice consumption is
about 138 kg per year in the villages and about 118 kg in cities. Once
self-sufficient, the country has been a net-importer of rice since 1980. Major constraints to rice production include lack of access to
agricultural equipment, good quality seed, mineral fertilizers and a range of
biotic and abiotic stresses, such as low temperature or cold.

AfricaRice scientists based in Madagascar are
closely working with FOFIFA scientists to address these challenges. Madagascar
is increasingly benefitting from collaborative R4D activities carried out by
AfricaRice and its partners with support from several donors, including the
AfDB, Japan, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the CGIAR Research
Program on Rice known as the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP).

FOFIFA is involved in the Africa-wide Rice
Task Forces convened by AfricaRice, particularly focused on rice breeding and
agronomy, in line with its priorities. It has welcomed the approach of the Rice
Sector Development Hubs to achieve greater coherence and impact.

Thanking the Minister of Agriculture and the
Director General of FOFIFA as well as all the partners supporting the rice
sector in Madagascar, Dr Roy-Macauley said that AfricaRice sees Madagascar as
the regional center for rice research and development for the countries of the
Indian Ocean.

AfricaRice headquarters is based in Côte d’Ivoire. Staff are located in Côte d’Ivoire and also in AfricaRice Research Stations in Benin, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org

About CGIAR

CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. www.cgiar.org